When Two Paths Meet
by roothlace
Summary: The parallel lives of Gwen based on whether she takes the train or not...
1. Chapter 1

_Merlin_ and _Sliding Doors_ don't belong to me.

I just love the film _Sliding Doors_ and decided to Merlinise it. So enjoy.

The real life will be in normal writing while the _what if is in italics_.

**When Two Paths Meet**

Gwen groaned when she looked at the clock, she threw off the covers and run to the bathroom. It was 8.30 and she was late for work.

Jerry watched her rush around the flat and almost felt sorry for her, she was really trying and it wasn't her fault that he no longer loved her, although to be fair he doubted he ever had. Jerry was a user and lazy into the bargain. When they had met a year ago, he had been drawn her because she was beautiful and more than willing to take of him. it didn't bother her that he didn't work, that the bestseller he was writing wasn't getting done – he hadn't written a word in months, and she was willing to wait until they were married to consummate their relationship, in spite of the fact they now lived together – he had had to give up his flat when he couldn't make the rent.

In short, Jerry had it made.

000

Gwen entered the office and made her way to the boardroom where the meeting was being held. Management as she called the five men who run the advertising agency, was watching her and not for the first time Gwen felt as though she was missing something. Something major.

Henry, the head honcho opened the liquor cabinet and asked her, "did you drink the last bottle of Champagne?"

"Yes," Gwen replied, opening a box she had brought with her and showing him three bottles, "it was my birthday on Friday and we drunk the bottle but I brought these to replace it."

The silence that followed her words was deafening.

"So I'm out, am I?" she asked, she had attended many such meetings to know what the silence meant.

"You stole from us," Henry told her.

"I took a bottle of Champagne and I am replacing it," Gwen said.

"I had some important clients here on Friday night," Henry said, "and I was embarrassed when I had nothing to give them."

Gwen looked at the rest of the men on the board but none came to her rescue yet she knew for a fact that they had all been guilty of taking a bottle or two from the liquor cabinet and sometimes they hadn't even replaced them.

She had lost her job. What else could go wrong?

000

A little girl was playing on the stairs and by the time Gwen was able to go around her, the train had gone. The voice on the PA announced that there was a problem at Victoria and that the next train would be delayed for an hour. Of course, Gwen thought to herself, why would the trains be working when she needed them? She walked back up to get a taxi.

000

_Gwen walked slowly to the underground. She couldn't believe that she had lost her job; after working so hard she was being let go for theft. It was ludicrous._

_A little girl was playing on the stairs; when the girl's mother saw Gwen she pulled the daughter out of the way and Gwen was about to make it into the train in the nick of time._

"_Hi," the man seated next to her in the tube said to her._

_Gwen ignored him but the man insisted on talking to her. "Have we met somewhere before, you look so familiar." She couldn't believe his nerve, here she was on the worst day of her life and some random – albeit good looking guy – was trying to pick her up._

"_We met just now, in the lift," the man said. Gwen looked up from the book she had opened and realized that she had seen him in the lift. He had picked up her earring when it had fallen in the lift._

"_You picked my earring," Gwen said, "thank you."_

"_So do you work there?" The man clearly wasn't going to keep his lovely mouth shut._

"_I did do," she replied. "I was just given the sack."_

"_I'm so sorry," the man was very apologetic._

"_It's okay," Gwen told him, "it's not as if you did it."_

_Finally silence, Gwen thought to herself when her neighbor didn't say a word for the next few minutes._

"_Sorry," he said to her, "I'm going off at the next stop and I don't know if you are too, but in case you get off before I do I don't want you to think that I'm following you."_

_Gwen was surprised at his sensitivity and ashamed of having been very short with him so when the train stopped, at her stop as well, she hurried after him._

"_I'm sorry I was rude just then," she told him, "my name's Gwen."_

"_Arthur," he replied. "So where are you off to then, seeing as you have no job?"_

"_I'm going home," Gwen confided, "I live with someone."_

"_Okay then," Arthur smiled at her, "see you around."_

_000_

Gwen walked to the taxi stand and waited for the taxi to draw up. A young man dressed all in black came towards her and tried to grab her purse. In the struggle to keep her purse, Gwen was thrown to the ground and the young man stepped all over her. The taxi driver helped her to her feet, the little punk hadn't been able to take her purse, and drove her to the hospital.

An hour later, Gwen was released and she went home. Jerry was in the bathroom and when he saw her, he couldn't believe what had happened to her.

"Why didn't you call me?" he asked her.

"I did," Gwen replied, "but I couldn't go through."

"I guess my battery's dead," Jerry replied, thinking how lucky it was that he had remembered to switch off his phone. Vivian would have been mad if it had rung while she was here.

_000_

_Gwen opened the door to the flat and was bombarded by the sound of Rihanna's Disturbia. If she wasn't sure that she was at her flat she would have walked out again. Gwen really liked Rihanna but Jerry couldn't stand her music._

"_Jerry," she called out. "Jerry?" There was no answer._

_Gwen walked into the bedroom and found Jerry in bed with a woman. Gwen wanted to scream but instead the words that came out of her mouth were, "who is she?"_

"_Vivian," the woman answered._

"_Would you like a cup of tea?" Gwen asked before picking up the lamp and throwing it at them._

_She needed to get out of there._

_000_

What do you think?


	2. Chapter 2

Real life is in normal while _what if is in italics_

Thanks for reading and reviewing.

"What you need is a pick-me-up," Jerry told Gwen. "Here's what we'll do. We'll go to _Renata's_ and you'll eat that Italian food you love so much, drink champagne and dance the night away to Tom Jones and you'll eat the Death by Chocolate cake you've been denying yourself."

"You're so good to me," Gwen told Jerry. She was already feeling better. Yes, they would go to _Renata's_ their favourite bar and restaurant and have fun tonight. She would worry about not having a job tomorrow. Gwen changed into a deep red super short dress that showed off her legs and they set off for a night of fun.

000

_Gwen ran into the street in tears. How could she have been so stupid? She asked herself. Of course, Jerry wasn't interested in her, he had Vivian. The little blonde beauty. So many things suddenly made sense to Gwen. Jerry had just using her, for food and a place to stay and she had thought they were in love. _

_Morgana had never liked Jerry and she had told Gwen but Gwen had been so taken in by his drawl and his smile. Jerry had a way of looking at you like you were the only person in the room and he was a great kisser. So much for all that._

_It was just three o'clock in the afternoon and Gwen knew Morgana that wouldn't be home until around six. She wasn't in the mood to see her best friend yet, so she made her way to Renata's – she loved that place – and sat at the bar. Maybe she would be able to drown her sorrows in alcohol._

_000_

Gwen and Jerry entered _Renata's _laughing. They were quickly led to a table, where Jerry ordered the food and asked that the drinks be kept flowing. Gwen stuffed herself so much, she was sure that she won't be able to walk back to the flat. The restaurant had a live band and if you were early you could request for songs. Jerry requested for Tom Jones and he and Gwen danced until late.

Gwen couldn't remember when she had last had that much fun.

000

_Arthur and Merlin entered Renata's and made their way to the bar. Arthur couldn't believe his eyes; Gwen was sitting at the end of the bar crying into her beer. He made his way towards her._

"_Hi, remember me," Arthur said, "Arthur, the annoying guy you met earlier on the tube."_

"_Ah, yes," Gwen attempted to smile._

"_What's going on?" he asked her, concerned._

"_Well, what can I say?" she replied, "after our meeting I went home and found my boyfriend in bed with another woman."_

"_What?" Arthur couldn't help himself, he reached out towards her. "What a fool."_

"_You didn't know," Gwen told him._

"_I meant your boyfriend," Arthur replied._

_Gwen nodded, hoping that Arthur would take the hint and leave her to drink in silence. Arthur continued to sit with her and then sensing that she probably wanted to be alone left her saying if she needed anything he would be at the bar._

_000_

Arthur and Merlin entered Renata's and as they made their way to the bar, Arthur bumped into the couple who were on their way out. "I'm sorry," he apologized and smiled at the woman. She was wearing a red knockout dress and when she smiled at him he was struck. The couple left and Arthur and Merlin made their way to the bar.

_000_

_Merlin could feel his friend's gaze straying every so often to the woman he had talked to when they had just come in._

"_Arthur, who is she anyway?" Merlin asked._

"_Just a woman I met on the tube today," Arthur replied._

"_I see."_

_Morgana walked into Renata's and looked for her friend. Gwen was sitting at the bar drinking. Morgana rushed up and hugged her friend, she would kill Jerry for hurting Gwen like this._

"_Let's get you home," she told Gwen and took her arm._

_When they passed by Arthur and Merlin, Arthur got up and helped Morgana with Gwen and got them into a taxi._

_000_

Gwen was frustrated; she had still failed to find a job. Granted it had only been a week but surely, even in this economy, someone was hiring. Morgana had been very helpful telling her that the deli next to the dance studio where she worked was looking for a delivery person. At first Gwen had refused to consider it but now looking at the bills that had come in just that morning, she figured any job was better than no job.

The man at the deli was happy to employ her and as her work was only delivering sandwiches to the nearby offices in the morning, when he told her of an opening at his brother's restaurant for a waitress who only worked nights, Gwen was happy to apply for that job as well. It would really come in handy, especially as Jerry's novel was still unfinished.

That afternoon Gwen was happy to tell Morgana went they met at Morgana's flat that she now had two jobs. Morgana wanted to point out, but she knew that it would make Gwen unhappy, that Jerry could also have gone job-hunting. After all, Gwen had supported him for a year now. But she kept her peace and hoped that Gwen would come to that realization soon enough.

000

"But don't you think it's unfair?" Gwaine asked Jerry. "The poor woman is now job hunting and you're not even writing."

"You're only saying that 'cause you're jealous," Jerry replied.

Gwaine shook his head and picked up his drink. He was ashamed of the way Jerry was treating Gwen. She didn't deserve it.

"So you're still going away for the weekend with Vivian?" Gwaine asked. "What about Gwen?"

"With any luck she'll get a job today," Jerry replied, "and then she won't be able to get free to go away in two weeks' time."

"So you've planned it all out, then?"

"That's me, master planner," Jerry laughed.

"You know," Gwaine said," one day this whole thing will backfire in your face."

"I guess that means I better enjoy it while I can, doesn't it?"

000

_Gwen moved into Morgana's flat and apart from the time Morgana forced her to go on and have her hair done, she didn't venture out._

_She cried herself to sleep every night and every time the phone rang or there was a knock on the door, she rushed to see if it was Jerry. But he never rang or came round to the flat._

_After almost a week, Gwen asked her friend to go and get her stuff from her flat._

"_This is wrong," Morgana said, "it's your flat."_

"_I know," Gwen replied, but she wasn't going to get into that now. She was over crying for Jerry, it was time to move on. "Was she there? Vivian?"_

"_No," Morgana replied._

000

Gwen watched Jerry leave the house; she had just walked in from delivering sandwiches and she was exhausted. Luckily she had a few hours before her next job.

Jerry was off to the library, or so he had heard. Somehow, Gwen didn't believe it and without meaning to she grabbed her purse and followed him.

Jerry couldn't believe it, Gwen was following him. He called Vivian and told her that he would be late because he was being followed. He entered the library and found himself a seat.

"Hello, are you looking for someone?"

Gwen turned and looked at the blond man smiling at her. He seemed familiar, and it came back to her – the lift on the day she was fired, and then at _Renata's_ that night.

"I just like peeping," Gwen replied.

"So do I," he replied, "I'm waiting for a friend of mine. I'm Arthur, by the way."

"Guinevere, but everyone calls me Gwen."

Merlin came out of the library and joined them.

"My friend here's a landscape artist," Arthur told Gwen after introducing Merlin to her, "and we're on our way to see his latest work. Care to join us?"

Gwen hesitated. She didn't know these men from Adam; they could be thieves or worse.

"If it helps," Arthur said, "It's just round the corner from the library."

"Okay."

000

_Gwen and Morgana were in the sitting room. Gwen was watching TV while Morgana was reading a newspaper._

_There was a knock at the door._

_The women looked at each other._

"_Get the door," Gwen said, "it's probably not for me anyway."_

"_There's no way I'm getting the door dressed like this," Morgana replied, "and it's bound to be Jerry looking for you."_

_Ever since Morgana had picked up Gwen's things from the flat the day before, Gwen had given up on Jerry's coming looking for her. But now as she walked to the door she gave in to the faint hope that Jerry still cared and had finally come to his senses._

_She opened the door._

"_Arthur."_

"_I hope I haven't come at a bad time," he said._

_000 _


	3. Chapter 3

Thanks for reading and reviewing.

Real life – normal_ and What if – italics_

888

_Arthur took Gwen to a nearby Subway where they ordered ice cream sundaes. Gwen barely touched hers, she was thinking of Jerry and Vivian. Finally she turned to Arthur and said, "I'm sorry I'm not great company."_

"_It's alright," he replied. "I'm happy to do it." _

"_You won't believe it, but I'm usually great company," Gwen replied, "my friend Morgana thinks you're cute."_

"_Your friend Morgana thinks I'm cute," he picked up the menu and added, "I just blew 2.95 on the wrong girl."_

_Gwen sighed in reply, she thought he was really good looking but he wasn't Jerry and she wasn't ready for this._

"_It's just that I feel that when a person is going through a rough time like you are right now, there's always someone chosen to cheer them up and in your case it's me." Arthur said, smiling, "the fact that you're reasonably attractive just makes the job easier."_

"_Reasonably attractive, uh?"_

"_I knew that would get your attention," Arthur said. "Listen, some friends and I are going rowing on the Thames on Saturday and I wondered you might like to come."_

"_Rowing?"_

"_It's this thing you do in a small …," Arthur began and was interrupted by Gwen's, "I know what rowing is."_

"_So will you come?"_

"_Saturday?" she replied, "I'll check my schedule."_

"_Fair enough."_

_000_

"So Jerry still went off to Dorset without you?" Morgana asked Gwen. They were crossing the bridge and below they could see some people rowing in the Thames.

"Yes," Gwen replied. "What do you think?" she gestured at the people in the boats.

"Probably some competition of sorts," Morgana replied.

000

"Who are calling now?" Vivian asked Jerry.

"Gwen," he replied, "I have to tell her I arrived safely. She'll be expecting it."

Vivian rolled her eyes at him and picked up her toiletries and went to the bathroom.

"…so anyway," Gwen was saying, "I was really tired and I must have zoned out for a bit and the next thing I realized - ."

"Arrggggggggggh."

"What was that?" Gwen asked; the noise had interrupted her conversation.

Jerry put the phone down and turned to glare at Vivian who was hopping around the room. He covered the mouthpiece and whispered, "What are you doing? You know I'm on the phone with Gwen."

Vivian pointed at her feet, one was her toes was bleeding. "I hurt myself." She sat down.

"The walls are really thin here," Jerry told Gwen. "And the couple next door has these crazy sex rituals. Maybe I should go and ask them for tips; you never know when we might need them."

"Okay," Gwen said, laughing, "As I was saying I zoned out and the next thing I knew I was on the gr-." She was interrupted by the sound of knocking.

"I'm sorry," Jerry said, "I really have to take care of something. Talk to you soon."

000

Gwen put down the phone and looked out the window. This relationship isn't working; she thought to herself, I should end it now.

000

Jerry turned to Vivian, angry. "What was that about?"

'I thought the whole point of going away for the week," Vivian replied, "was to get away from _her_."

"It is."

"So why were you calling her?" Vivian asked.

"I told you," Jerry replied, "She thinks we're in a normal relationship."

"I see," Vivian said. "Are you ever going to tell her that you're not?"

"Babe," Jerry wheedled, "these things take time, and I'll tell her when the time is right."

Vivian nodded and then picked up her shoe and threw it at Jerry who ducked in time. "What's wrong with you?" he asked her.

"You are what's wrong with me," Vivian told him. "Do you honestly think I like being the other woman?"

"Vivian, I don't need to remind you that you are one who left me."

"But I came back," she replied, "I'm here now."

"You left and I needed someone to take care of me," Jerry told him, "she thinks she's in love with me and it's actually kind of nice."

"Nice? You want nice? Fine." Vivian picked up her bags and stormed out of the room. "It's over." She told Jerry over her shoulder.

Jerry lay on the bed and looked at the ceiling, he would stay and enjoy his week and return to London as planned; thankfully Vivian had given the hotel her credit card, the whole week had been paid for. He now had a chance to make things work out with Gwen, she loved him, and she took care of him maybe that was all he needed. He didn't need all the craziness and drama he had with Vivian, he could live a simple calm life. He could do it.

000

Gwen entered the flat and looked at the flowers. Jerry walked towards her with a glass of champagne. She took it without thinking and asked dumbly, "what is this?"

"Flowers."

She remembered a conversation she had overheard at the restaurant. The woman had been arguing with the man about his having bought her flowers. The man insisted that he had bought her flowers on a whim, that he was being romantic. The woman had pointed out that he never did anything romantic even when he was supposed to, which meant that he bought her those flowers because he was guilty of doing something, that he was probably having an affair. The man had had no reply to that.

Gwen remembered that conversation as she looked at the flowers and Jerry's smiling face. He was probably having an affair, she'd suspected as much for months now. She decided to take the bull by the horns.

"Jerry, are you having an affair?"

"What? No." He sounded affronted. Technically, he had been having an affair until a few days ago, but he wasn't having one now.

"Okay." Gwen let it go; she wasn't in the mood for an argument.

"By the way what was it you were telling me on the phone the other day?" Jerry asked.

"It wasn't important," Gwen replied, she had been too tired at the restaurant and had zoned out for a bit and had a minor accident. "Just a job interview with a new firm that just moved to London, said that they had heard about my work."

"That's not nothing," Jerry said, "it's great."

"Yes," Gwen replied, "it's actually tomorrow at 6pm, the VP wants to meet me at her home."

"We should celebrate," Jerry said. He went to get the champagne bottle from the kitchen and was surprised to see Vivian standing outside their kitchen window. He screamed.

Gwen rushed into the room. "What's the matter?" she asked him.

Jerry had been trying to close the kitchen binds but hadn't succeeded, he shut his eyes and opened them slowly hoping against hope that Vivian wasn't still standing outside.

"I had a fright," he told Gwen, thankfully Vivian had disappeared. His phone rang.

000

"_This is the third date you've had in any many days," Morgana pointed out, "I'd definitely say you're dating."_

_Gwen smiled; she couldn't believe how much fun she was having with Arthur._

"_By the way," Morgana said," this came for you today." She handed Gwen a letter._

_Gwen opened it and smiled, her loan application had been approved._

"_This Arthur has certainly been a great influence on you, hasn't he?" Morgana teased. A few days ago while Arthur had been walking Gwen home he had asked her why she didn't go into business on her own. Gwen had replied that it was because she was afraid of failing and Arthur had replied, 'then you have nothing to fear.' 'What about the money?' Gwen asked Arthur. 'That's what banks are for.' So Gwen had decided to take the plunge, she had applied for a loan to start her own PR company._

"_I can't wait to tell Arthur," Gwen told Morgana._

_000_

"_I can't believe it," a woman said._

"_I told you," another voice replied, "All men are the same."_

"_But he and Elena seem so happy," the first woman said._

"_Too happy to be real you mean," the second woman laughed._

"_You're right," the first woman said, "Elena couldn't have thought she'd be enough for Arthur Pendragon."_

_Gwen had been about to get out of the stall but now she remained there. She couldn't believe her ears. Arthur was married. She had told him all about her bad relationship, they'd talked about their first loves, what they wanted from life and he was married. _

_She had had enough bad relationships for the year. It was time to end it._

_000_

_Morgana opened the door and glared at Arthur._

"_Where is she?" Arthur asked, "I've been sitting at the restaurant for hours."_

"_Why?" Morgana asked him. "Shouldn't you be sitting at home with your wife? You know; the one with the wedding ring?"_

_Arthur stepped back from the door. He couldn't believe this was happening to him._

_000_

Gwen walked to the VP's flat, she was running late and she hoped the woman would understand and not hold it against her; it hadn't been easy to get someone to cover her shift at the restaurant.

She finally saw it, 4312; she rang the doorbell and waited.

Jerry opened the door.

_000_


	4. Chapter 4

Thanks for reading and reviewing.

Real life – normal_ and What if – italics_

_000_

_Arthur knew that it was his fault he hadn't told Gwen about Elena, he had been stupid. Of course, she had been bound to find out. He wished he hadn't agreed to continue the charade but at the time it had seemed best Elena and him to let Uther think that they still married._

_He stood outside Morgana's door and thought of the places where Gwen could be and finally he decided to take a walk along the bridge. He remembered Gwen saying that she always went there when she wanted to be alone, and to figure out stuff._

It was difficult to say who was more shocked – Jerry or Gwen. Gwen looked at the piece of paper on which she'd scribbled the address to ensure that she gone to the right place.

As the two of them were still staring at each other Vivian came into the sitting room. "Hello Gwen," she said, "thanks for coming. I was talking to Jerry here about whether I should keep his baby or not," she smiled a fake smile.

Gwen looked at both of them in disbelief and run back down to the corridor. Jerry couldn't believe Vivian had just blurted out the news like that and after glaring at her, he run out after Gwen.

As Gwen run down the stairs she could hear Jerry calling her name telling her to wait. She couldn't believe his nerve, he had lied to her, used her and now he expected her to wait and hear his explanations. Gwen was lost in thought and misery and she missed a step and went stumbling down the rest of the stairs. Thankfully, she lost consciousness before she hit the bottom.

000

_Arthur saw Gwen standing at the edge of the bridge looking out at the water. "Gwen," she called to her. When she saw him, Gwen began to walk away telling him that she'd had enough bad relationships for the year, she didn't need him to lie to her anymore._

"_Let me explain," Arthur pleaded. Inspite of herself, Gwen stopped walking and turned to face him. "I am married," Arthur began and Gwen felt her heart turn to stone and drop to her stomach, of course he was married. "But Elena and I have been separated for a year and the divorce is about to come through. My dad, Uther, is very ill and we pretended to be married still for his sake."_

_Gwen looked at him, wondering whether to believe him. Could she dare trust him? Why hadn't he told her all this before, after she had all but told him her whole life story in the first five minutes of their acquaintance._

_Arthur looked at Gwen, wondering how it was possible to feel so much for someone he barely knew. "Walk away, if you want to Guinevere," he said, painfully, "but let it be for a real reason, and right now there's none."_

_Gwen smiled at him._

"_Do you have your phone?" she asked him. Arthur shook his head, surprised to find that he had left it behind._

"_It's fine," Gwen replied, "there's a phone booth just ahead, I'll go and call Morgana and tell her I'm alright. Wait right here."_

_Arthur stood watching her hurry to the phone booth. He couldn't help himself, Merlin would probably call him ten kinds of fools of saying this, and he called to her. "Guinevere," and she turned, "I love you." Gwen's smile would have lit the skies._

_She turned into the road, so intent on making it to the booth that she didn't see the truck turning and it hit her head on._

_000_

_Arthur tried to follow Gwen into the operating room but the nurses stopped him. The truck had all but ploughed over her and she had lost a lot of blood and had many injuries._

_After what seemed like centuries, but was in fact less than an hour, the doctor came out and talked to him. "Gwen suffered a lot of internal injuries and we were unable to save her."_

_Arthur couldn't believe it. She was dead. She couldn't be dead, not when he had just confessed his love to her._

_She was dead._

000

Gwen woke up wondering where she was. Then it all came back, the interval, Jerry, the woman who was going to have Jerry's child, the fall. She looked around and saw Jerry sitting by her bed.

"Thank God, you're alright," he told her.

Gwen looked at him, wondering what he was doing there. She thought of asking why he wasn't with the soon-to-be mother of his child but decided not to waste her energy.

"Gwen," Jerry pleaded, "just let me what you want me to do and I'll do it."

Gwen took a deep breath and said, "I want you to stand up, open the door, get out and shut the door behind you." Jerry wanted to argue but he knew from her tone that Gwen was not joking; he stood up and did as she had asked.

"You had a lucky escape," the doctor told Gwen as she signed her discharge papers. "But you're young and you should make a quick and full recovery."

You can say that again, she said silently, but said "Thank you," aloud, and smiled at the young woman.

000

Arthur hurried to the hospital; the nurse had called to say that Uther had had another bad night. After seeing his father and talking to his doctor, Arthur was reassured that Uther was progressing as well as could be hoped and that they would see the effect of the new treatment that he just been placed on soon.

000

Gwen hurried towards the lift. She couldn't wait to begin this new chapter – the Jerryless chapter – of her life. She would probably move in with Morgana while she sorted out her stuff and at least all her money would be hers now.

Finally the doors opened. There was a man in the lift, a blond, well built, good-looking man. They smiled thinly at each other.

Gwen was playing with her earring, a nervous habit, and it fell to the ground and the man picked it up and handed to her.

"Bad day?" he asked.

"Bad few days," Gwen replied. She never liked men who struck up conversations with women they didn't know in lifts, or even on the Tube. She hoped her tone would tell him that she wasn't in the mood to talk to him but he continued, "You know what Monty Python says."

"Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition," Gwen finished. The two of them stared at each other in shock; most people always went with platitudes like always look on the bright side of life, in fact Arthur had been sure this strange woman would say that.

"I'm Arthur," he told her.

"Guinevere, but most people call me Gwen," she said.

"I know this is presumptuous, we us having met all of five seconds ago," Arthur said, "but would you consider having brunch with me?"

"It is very presumptuous actually," Gwen told him, "I could be meeting my husband for all you know and you could be married, but I'll take the chance, where shall we go?"

000

"Are you alright?" Morgana asked her friend when they met later that day. Gwen had just told her all about Jerry, Vivian, the fake job interview, the baby and the accident.

"I'll be fine."

"Why didn't you call me earlier? Where have you been?" Morgana complained, "I can't believe you're just telling me all this now."

"As I was leaving the hospital I met a man," Gwen said.

"Oooooooh," Morgana replied, wiggling her eyes suggestively, "I see."

"I met Arthur and we seeing as we were both at loose ends, we decided to spend the morning together. We went sightseeing on the bus."

"Really?"

"But don't worry," Gwen replied, "you'll be meeting him tonight, he has this friend Merlin who has a show or something, anyway they're picking us up at six thirty."

"You're going out tonight?" Morgana was surprised. "I thought we would stay in and curse Jerry, watch old movies and eat ice cream."

"Why would we do that?" Gwen asked. "We have but one life to lead can't waste it like that."

"I like the new you," Morgana said hugging her friend. Morgana had never liked Jerry and she was happy Gwen had finally thrown him out.

"Me too," Gwen replied, "me too."

"So what shall we do first?" Morgana asked, "Hair or dresses?"

End

Thanks for reading and reviewing.


End file.
